Microchip’s Graphics Display Designer X Supports PIC® MCU-based GUI Creation
on Windows®, Linux or Mac® Computers
Easy-to-Use Tool Enables the Development of Graphical User Interfaces and
Saves Valuable Design Time
Business Wire
CHANDLER, Ariz. -- March 20, 2013
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP), a leading provider of
microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, today announced
the release of Graphics Display Designer X (GDD X), Microchip’s enhanced
visual design tool that provides a quick and easy way of creating Graphical
User Interface (GUI) screens for applications using Microchip’s 16- or 32-bit
PIC^® MCUs. With GDD X, developers have the freedom to work in the environment
of their choice, including Windows^®, Linux or Mac OS^® operating systems.
Graphical user interfaces are found in a wide range of products today, from
coffeemakers to automotive dashboards. While the requirement is becoming
commonplace, there is a lack of cost-effective tools available to the
developer. Placing dialog boxes, guidance text, buttons, sliders, dials and
other elements of your GUI while determining colors and calculating x/y
coordinates can be very time-consuming. GDD X enables the development of GUIs
in a “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) environment, and saves valuable
design time by automatically generating the C code needed for the user
interface. With GDD X, a highly effective GUI can be created to improve the
customer experience for applications in the automotive (e.g., numeric, gauge
or infotainment displays), industrial (e.g., operator touch-screen
interfaces), home-appliance (e.g., coffeemakers, refrigerators, cook tops,
microwave ovens), consumer-electronics (e.g., home automation, alarms and
learning toys) and medical markets (e.g., bedside monitoring or medical lab
analysis equipment).
GDD X enables development using Microchip’s Graphics Library, and can be used
as a stand-alone tool or as a plug-in to Microchip’s free MPLAB^® X Integrated
Development Environment (IDE). It allows the creation of a project with
configurable display resolution, and imports all the required driver/board
support files into MPLAB X. Generated code can be compiled and tested on
hardware. Key improvements to the original GDD include: thumbnail view of
screens and snap-to-grid feature, cut/copy/paste, auto object align, and event
handling, as well as palette support for 1-, 4-, and 8-bits-per-pixel (bpp)
color modes.
“With GDD X, Microchip is bringing together key components of the graphical
user interface on 16- and 32-bit hardware platforms in an easy-to-use graphics
development tool,” said Sumit Mitra, vice president of Microchip’s MCU32
Division. “Developers can drag and drop GUI elements into place, and GDD X
creates the C code for their project. This saves a significant amount of
development time.”
Pricing & Availability
The GDD X is available today via a free download from
http://www.microchip.com/get/85U9. For additional information, contact any
Microchip sales representative or authorized worldwide distributor, or visit
Microchip’s Web site at http://www.microchip.com/get/85U9. To purchase
products mentioned in this press release, go to microchipDIRECT or contact one
of Microchip’s authorized distribution partners.
Resources
High-res Screenshot Available Through Flickr or Editorial Contact (feel free
to publish):
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About Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of
microcontroller, mixed-signal analog and Flash-IP solutions, providing
low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to
market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered
in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along
with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the
Microchip website at http://www.microchip.com/get/T2DT.
Note: The Microchip name and logo, PIC, and MPLAB are registered trademarks of
Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A., and other countries. All
other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective
companies.
Tags / Keywords: Graphics, GUI, User Interface, PIC32, WYSIWYG
Contact:
Microchip Technology Inc.
Editorial Contact:
Terri Thorson, 480-792-4386
terri.thorson@microchip.com
or
Reader Inquiries:
1-888-624-7435
http://www.microchip.com/get/85U9